Apparatus for producing electric currents



no. 617,90I. Patented Ian. I7, |899.

M. C. MASSIE. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCINGELECTRIC CURRENTS.

:Applicmon med ocL x1, 189s.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

Nb. 60,901. Patented 1an. 17, |899 M. c. MAssllE.

- APPARATUS FOR P BODUCING ELECTRIC CURRENTS.

Unirse STAT-ns 'PTENT I. OFFICE;

Y inbivimiru S Fo n Pn one] NG SPECIFICATION forming per# of Letters raient 15.617,9

ELEC'T''ICRRENTS.

. i. amd www 17; i899. f

'Application atea october 11, 1898.- anni No. samt-foro inten To all'zlfhom it may' concern? `Be it known' that I, MITFORD C. MAssin, a. citizen-of theU'nited States, residingat Washington'; in the District of Columbia, hevefim 5 vented eertainnew and usefnljlmprovements -i n Apparatus for- Producing Electric Cur-l rents ,11nd -I do `hereb'ydeel are 'the following to be a full,'cl ea'r, and exact description of the invention', 'such as will enable others'skilled in the-nrt to which itappertains to make and use the saine. 'i v My inven tion relntes to improvements inv the nrt of pr'oducingeleetric currents.

-The object of my invention is to provide mennsfwbereby'cn alternating current may be converted into a direct current or a direct current into n vvibrator Y 'euri-en t either interrupted or'nlternating, as may be desired. An `:ippnrat us embodying my invention comprises the .essential features of what is known inthe nrt n s the \Vheatstone bridge, means for continuously alternately balanc' ing and unbnln-neiig the resistanccs of the branches of said bridge, and means for supf plying the bridge with current. Y My invention will first be described in connection with thc accompanying drawings and then particularly pointed out iii the claims.-

`Refer-ringtothe drawings, Figure l is stdingmmnmiic View ofnl lVhcatstonebridgc, illus? trating my invention; Fig. ,2, :L similar View. showingnn nl'ipz'trntus embodying my invention arranged to produce vibrntory direct currents; Fig. 3, :i longitudinal section, partly in elevation7 ofonc form of resistance-changer embodyingn. pnrt of my invention; Figs. 4 and 5, detail perspective views of parts of said resistancefehanger; Fig.A (3, a view similarto Fig. alternating current into a dii-eet current; and Fig. 7, a similar View 'showing an apparatus for changing a. direct current into anA alternoting one.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, A lis a, Whectstone bridge having the four branches a.' a a3az in'd the bridge-conductores. This bridge-conductor is shown in Fig. l as includ.,- in g the electric lamps aand Ain my apparatus' serves as the work-circuit. The terminals-of 5o the bridge are connected by conductors b-b' ai be reduced, a current Aseen, by repentedly'IV the resistances ofthe branches in themanner 2, showing anapparat-us for changing ativfor use with currents to the poles of the dynamo er other generator 3. In such e bridge when the resistance in az' j.s theresis'tance in the branch Afis-tothe .l resistance in' the branch a,4 said to be belanced,"and no currentwill cross the bridge 'fgconductor asf branches vare not s `o balance .,facurrent will cross .thesaidbridge-condnetor 0,51

- '.-If the current'suppledthi 'terl'nlnals ofL the bridge'be adiree't eurrentend theresi'stanees'intwof of the branchesafor'example, a2 ca -be red need whle-theresistances ofthe.

rent will flow across-the:bridgeconductor y' vfor example, in thefdireetion ,of the 'ar-rom,

Fig. l.: I f nowthe 'resistanees in th'ebranches i cia3 be inereasedand'that-lin .the branches q/k.

and L: lltexfnately altering.' v

thatindica-tedby described an alternating current may be pro- 7 5 duced in the said bridge-conductor; f- If,howf ever, the resistanceof .the branches a'abe maintained ata normal amount, Awhile the re. sistance oftheI branches afi-.ail bevaried synchronously from a maximum to n' minimum, 8o a. cu'rrentwill 'flow across the bridge-conducL toi-ja5 in one direction only and atthe tiine when the-bridge'is nnbalanced.- --In this man;

. ner a v-ibrntory or interrupted direct current m ay be produced inthe said bridge-conductor.l 8 5 For high-tension currents the-'apparatus m ay be so arranged that the branches are bal- I anced ata high resistance and are unbalanced by reducing the resistances of two diametrie'- ally opposite branches-as,`for instance, aa. gg In order to-carry ont the general principles explained in connection with Fig.A 1, vI intro- A duce o. rotary resistancefehanger into -on'e'or more branchesof a, Whea-tston'e bridge.`

direct current, this apparatusbeing intended of highA voltage. l 2, M M' are resistance Referring to Fig coils introduced int'otwo diemetrically oppoloosite branchesof the bridge, rotary resistance-changersarrmged to intro.-

while D' D2. are

duce into the two remaining branches resist#A ences equal to those indicated atM' M' and 2 I' 'have shown diagrammatically 95 .an arrangement for prod ucing an interrupted thebridge will balance on low resista'u'ces,-

io he resistance=changer maybe constructedl in any desired form which allows this repeat' ed and alternatebalancing and `unbalancing of the resistanecs of the four branches the preferred construction j of- 'suchf resistance-" A i5 changerbeing as follows:d;Figl3isashaft which .may be rotated in any suitable'mannen and may,'if desired, befa continuation ofthe resistaucc'a-che'ingers", 'each'comprising a disk zo d', having crown-teeth d? and a hubor sleeve d3, fitting'snu'gly en the shaftv d and arranged to be'sccuredthereto by a-l screw d. Surroundingthe hub d3 and withinthecircle of '1;' "crown-teeth di isa'. disk- E; of insulatingina- 2 5 'terial, havinga sleeve e'short'erthan vthehub (P and having its'end b '5\ feled, as shown satie,v for a purpose'lrereinafter describedL ing somewhat larger than the teeth f in order that there may be no contact between thetwo sets of teeth. The said disk' f is'provided with a short hubf, 'tting tightly over the 35 sleeve e' of the insulating-disk e. Aseries of screws]c2 passtlirough the' said disk f into the insulating-disk e and thereby h old these two parts together. A c'ollarg, of insulating inaterial and provided on its'exterior surface 4o with helical glooves, is placed upon the sleeve e' and bears against the end of the huhf".

'A contact-.ring h is threaded 4upon .the-outer .end of the hub d? and providedwith au annular coned recess, (indicated at h') -which 45 receives the beveled end e2 ofthe sleeve e'.

By screwing up this contact-ring h the parts are clamped together firmly. j f

In the helical groove o f the insulating lnaterial g is placcda resistance-coil t', having 5o one end 1l' soldered or otherwise connected to the hub f3 of thediskf, while the other end i? of said resistance-coil is secured to the con- 65 changer is rota-ted. A similar brush l bears against-the contact-ring.

which is desirable for currents o f lovvvoltage.

ff The .terminalsA 'ms 'iyzbf 'coils M and llif'trespectively', 'are' ,connected ect between the crown-teeth d of the( 3o disk d'J the openings between the teeth d2 beproportion that thegrcsistanccof the coil 'in' ld of the resistance-changers beneath their 4through the workco`nduetors N-N and. the

a vbratory current iu the primary coil Nz In the practical construction of my device the brush 7:, for example, of one rcsistancehanger may be connected to one end m of the rcsistance-coil.hI,l `ig. 2, the other brush 7o lo f said resistance-changer beingjconneeted to the terminal vfm of the resistance-coil Mime The brush' 7.; of' the other resistance-chan ger is connected to the terminal mz'of the resistf ance-'coil M', while-its brush l, is connected tothe terminal m of the resistance-coil M. .Theterminals m and m2 f the tir resistancecoils. form the poles of the w orlc-ci rcuit;v The I lwork-conductors N and N' areshownas leading therefrom vand arrangedito supply'cuif- ISQ I rents tothe primary coil Nf-"of atransformcr whose secondary coil N i isfincluded-in a cir- 'generator being shown extended to connect `with or form part of; thelshaftvlr f. the rel.

when the brushk-of; ouwePresistancechanger 4is in contactwith the teeth'v orsegnients f 'of 9S lar position andthe resistance -fropi' the ter-1 minal Imff one resistance-coil M' t0 the terminal 'm of the@ other' resistance-coil M willbear. to the resistanceof said coil- M the same ICO bears to the total resistancefroin theternii- Anal m through the' corresponding resistancechanger to t-he terminal fm".V Therefore the bridge will be in balance when the brushes k Y are in contact with their corresponding teeth io5 or segments f and no current will pass across the bridge-conductor formed by the wiresvN.

N and the primary coilfNz; butas soon as the shaft d is rotated so as to bring the teeth4 I IO corresponding. brushes 7.: the currentv flows. directly to thel brushes l-insteadof through the resist-ance-coils i, and hence the resistaticos of the two diainetrically opposite branches containing. the` resistance-changers x x 5 is much lower than the-'resistance's of the diametrically opposite .branches containing the resistance-coils M M'. In this manner the bridge isi unbalanced and a current flows [2Q primar)v` coils NMATur'tlx'er-rotatieeef-the shaft cl againbrings the brushes k into contact with the teeth/or segments f' of the corresponding resistance-changers,and the bridge is again balanced, whereupouthe eurrent through the conductors N Nf and'primary coil N is interrupted. Thev continued rota tion of the resistance-changers causes a repotition of this action, and therefore producesand in the conductors N N'. This' in turn sets upa secondary current in the secondary ance in to its respective branch the correspondresistance ilnto their own respective branches,

ing at-the brushes k.

' diametrically .the two pairs rotating-sinnultaneously,

vf nous with the alternation of the current,

coil N3, which may be used as desiredvin the circuit N 4.

Ihave illustrated .the conductors N N as connected with the primary coil N? of the transformer; but it is obvious that the current in said conductors N N' may be used in any other desired manner.

As the resistance-changers introduce the branches before removing. the minimum resistauces, and vice versa, it is obvious that there will be but a limited amountof'spark- In order to produce a direct curren't from an alternating current, I insert a resistancechanger in cach branch of the bridge, these resistance-changers being set.v so thatthose opposite eachother form a pair, sothat when one pair introduces a maximum resist:

ing opposite pair will introduce a niinimum.

and vice'versa. The rotation of all 'the re sistance-changers is such that the variation from a maximum to a minimum is synchrowhicli is supplied from any source-such, for instance, as `an alternating generator. This construction is shown in Fig. 6. By this arrangement the alternating current flows across the bridge-conductor in alternately opposite directions; but since it is an alternating current and since the variations of the resistances are synchronous with the alternatious the current produced in the bridgecond uctor is adirect one'. By employing the same construction with a source of direct cur' rent an alternating current may be produced in the bridge-conductor, as will be plain from Fla. 7; l

Having thus fully described myiuvention, l

what I claim as new, and desire to Letters Patent of the United States, is-

bridge, of means in two site branches of the bridge for repeatedly and alternately balancingand unbalancing theresistances ofthe branches of said bridge,- and means for energizing the-branches,- whereby a vibratory current is conductor.

from a maximum tto a resistance-changers in branches being arranged tointrodu'ce the maximum Aresistances into .their respective branches when'the remainingpair of resistance-changers introduce the minimum resist. ances into .their respective branches, and means for operating from a maximum tol ously, and synchronously with tlievaltora- .tions of the secu re by 1. The combination ,with a Wheatstonc bridge, of means for repeatedly and alternately balancingand unbalancing the resistances of the branches offsaid bridge, audmeans for energizing the branches, whereby a cu rrent is 'prod uced `inthe bridge-conductor.

with a Wheatstone 2., .The combination,

diametrically oppo-A produced the bridge- 3. The combinazione the respctiye .bridges diametrically'opposite the resistance-changers a. minimum simultanewith af w'heatstone bridge, of a generator of alternating'current having Aits terminals' connected to, the termi- 1 -amisf-oanswimone bridge, at@ resistance-changgrs Aineaclugf the branches of' the bridge for h repeatedly $121,141. `alteinately altering the resistances of minimum, one pair of generating-current, whereby the latter produces a direct'currcnt in the br1dgeconductor:

In testimony whereof 1 affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

`MITFORD C.- MASSIE.

lVitnesses: v l

N. MITCHELL, ANTON GLoETzNEn. 

